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Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging Newmont (NEM) This Year?

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The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Newmont Corporation (NEM - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Newmont Corporation is one of 233 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #9 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Newmont Corporation is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NEM's full-year earnings has moved 28.4% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, NEM has returned 43.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 9.9% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Newmont Corporation is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Posco (PKX - Free Report) . The stock is up 11.3% year-to-date.

For Posco, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Newmont Corporation is a member of the Mining - Gold industry, which includes 39 individual companies and currently sits at #39 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 50.5% so far this year, so NEM is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

On the other hand, Posco belongs to the Steel - Producers industry. This 18-stock industry is currently ranked #68. The industry has moved +13.6% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Newmont Corporation and Posco as they could maintain their solid performance.


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